Every BMW 3-Series Has 2,500 HP… In Its Brakes

In response to Toyota’s unintended acceleration debacle, BMW engineers decided to calculate the equivalent horsepower of a 3-series’ brakes: roughly 2,500 HP. That’s right, every 3-Series ships with more than twice the power of a Bugatti Veyron.

The engineers arrived at the 2,500 HP number after measuring the car’s 60-0 MPH deceleration time (2.5 seconds), then calculating how much horsepower would be required to achieved equivalent acceleration (0-60 MPH in 2.5 seconds). This is obviously an over-simplified number that exists merely in the calculations on an engineer’s note pad – the rear-wheel drive 3-series would need extensive modifications to transfer that accelerative power then send it to the ground – but it does demonstrate exactly how much more powerful the brakes are over the engine, which, in the case of this Bimmer, makes between 200 and 300 HP.

What’s this mean for unintended acceleration? Even if you couldn’t shift the car into neutral, even if the throttle was stuck wide open, even if you couldn’t turn the engine off, you could still stop the car by using the brakes, which can easily overpower the engine.